Under California law, the court may order that one spouse pay for the support of his or her spouse after separation pending a judgment of divorce or legal separation, and in many cases, after judgment. The supported spouse may be ordered to make reasonable efforts to provide for his or her own support needs taking into account the particular circumstances of the case.
In making a determination of the need and amount of spousal support, the court will consider several factors, including the following factors:
- The standard of living established during the marriage (sometimes considered a threshold issue)
- The marketable skills of the party to be supported
- The time and expense required for the party to be supported to acquire education or training to develop marketable skills
- The extent that the earning capacity of the party to be supported is impaired by periods of unemployment necessitated by domestic duties
- The extent that the party to be supported contributed to the education, training, career position or license obtained by the party to be providing support
- The ability of the party to provide support to pay spousal support considering that party’s earning capacity, income, assets and standard of living
- The needs of the parties
- The obligations and assets of the parties
- The duration of the marriage
- The ability of the party to be supported to engage in gainful employment without unduly interfering with the interests of dependent children
- The age and health of the parties
- Documented history of domestic violence
- Any other factors the court determines are just and equitable.
In addition to the actual amount ordered to be paid, the court will need to address the issue of retention of jurisdiction to modify the support amount, including in cases where no support is initially ordered, to retain the jurisdiction to order it in the future (such as in the case of a long term marriage, where one party subsequently becomes unable to work due to disability). Also, judgments for spousal support, in the absence of clear and proper language to the contrary, are normally modifiable with a proper showing.
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